NSA Director Offered to Resign Over Snowden Revelations: Should Have Been Fired Instead
The Hill, citing a behind the paywall Wall Street Journal story, reports that National Security Agent director Keith Alexander offered to resign over the Edward Snowden revelations that Alexander had overseen a massive warrantless surveillance program aimed against American citizens. From The Hill:
The National Security Agency's director, Gen. Keith Alexander, offered to resign from his post shortly after Edward Snowden began leaking classified government documents, according to The Wall Street Journal.
According to the report, the Obama administration rejected his offer.
Snowden, a former NSA contractor, began disclosing documents detailing the agency's surveillance programs in June.
Top administration officials' confidence in Alexander was shaken, the Journal reports, because he oversaw the agency during the security lapse, an unidentified former senior defense official told the paper.
But an Alexander resignation, the official added, would indicate Snowden won, and wouldn't solve the security problem.
Certainly wouldn't want to be seen as admitting to violations of the Fourth Amendment rights of Americans to remain secure in their persons and papers against unreasonable search and seizure.
Rather than merely accepting Alexander's resignation, President Obama should have fired him and that bald-faced liar to Congress, James Clapper, the Director of National Intelligence. Frankly, it appears that President Obama doesn't fire incompetent and mendacious minions out of fear that it will make him look weak. Actually, the opposite is true. In addition, the president should immediately pardon Edward Snowden.
